Tag Archives: Doppelganger

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Dark Liaisons (part 4 of 4)

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Greetings and salutations, Legions of the Unspoken! Your loyal Symbifan has returned as promised and with the final part of my look back at one of my favorite storylines from the 90’s, “Spirits of Venom”! (This exciting finale was originally published in “Spirits of Vengeance” #6) As we begin, I must ask you all a very serious question: Have you ever wanted to see the inside of Venom’s fanged and drooling mouth? No? Too bad! Hahaha!

(Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Ugh! You just know he has an alien form of gingivitis in there.) Venom roars at Ghost Rider in rage! How dare he aid Spider-Man in escaping his grasp? Now the Spirit of Vengeance will suffer in the wall-crawler’s place! Venom leaps at the Rider, ready to tear him to shreds! Ghost Rider attempts to speak reasonably to the symbiotic villain. Spider-Man was helping the innocent people be free of the evil minions of Deathwatch. And doesn’t Venom often preach about saving innocents? This only added to Venom’s anger! The Rider knew nothing of him and what the Spider did to him! Venom then uses his superior strength to toss Ghost Rider across the sewers tunnel and into a concrete wall! He then picks up the Rider’s fallen chain and lunges!

Venom pins Ghost Rider to the ground, forcing the supernatural chain into his mouth and tightening it! This effectively traps the Spirit of Vengeance underneath the drooling symbiote! As Venom roars curses, Ghost Rider has had enough! He unleashes the most feared of his powers, the Penance Stare! By peering into an enemy’s eyes, the Rider can force them to feel all of the pain that they’ve inflicted upon others! Most scream in absolute terror at this disturbing skill. (I want this power! Except I want others to feel my utter annoyance. I would punish all who work at my local Walmart! Self checkout, be damned!) But what’s this? Something’s wrong. A type of unknown feedback harms both Venom and the hellish Rider! An explosion of mystical fire hurls Venom away and rocks Ghost Rider’s body!

Venom, though still reeling from the blast, pulls himself to his feet first. Ghost Rider lies very still. He seems unconscious. Venom, angered at the pain he just felt, approaches to finish his foe! But as he moves to do so, he suddenly finds a hellfire shotgun pressed to the back of his skull! Blaze won’t allow the murder of his partner. But the symbiote sends a tendril backwards, blocking the trigger from being pulled! As Venom laughs, sure of his victory, Blaze instead slams a long blade into Venom’s shoulder! Blaze is backhanded some distance for this outrage! But before any of the three can continue their brawl, the very ground seems to swallow them as the eerie Deathspawn pull them downwards! (Anyone else sick of these Deathspawn interrupting the superhero fights in this story? These guys are more annoying than Girl Scouts when it’s that time of year to sell their damn cookies. Making me feel all guilty as I walk on by. What was I talking about? Not sure, but I suddenly crave cookies.)

Aboveground, Spider-Man has contacted the authorities to take the unconscious Hobgoblin into custody. As an armored Guardsman lands and cuffs the goblin, Spidey also reports that Venom is free at this very moment right beneath their feet. In fact, this is where he himself must return. He has to help his allies. The Guardsman gets on his radio and orders a containment squad for Venom just as the web-slinger disappears back into the dark and murky sewers. Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Venom are trapped, held against their will by two of Deathwatch’s main goons, Hag and Troll! This evil twosome were even more powerful than the numerous Deathspawn! (So important to the storyline, that I completely forgot that they even existed until just now. But hey, it’s not like I wrote three whole articles, not even mentioning them. Pardon my nervous laugh…..heehee.) It seems that the trio will be used as offerings to Deathwatch when he arises from the land of the dead! Just as Blaze scoffs at this plan, the Deathspawn suddenly enter Deathwatch’s still form! He then sits straight up and turns his gaze to the captives!

As Hag and Troll egg on their dark master, Deathwatch slowly reaches for Johnny Blaze! He will feed upon his life-force and be whole once more! But just before his fingertips touch Blaze’s cheek, a strand of webbing pulls Deathwatch’s hand away. Everyone present looks and they see Spider-Man standing there, Blaze’s hellfire shotgun held at the ready! Hag and Troll ignore Spidey as he warns them with the weapon as they rush him! For a moment, Spider-Man contemplates actually using the enchanted gun. But instead, he throws it to its owner. Blaze uses it to free Ghost Rider and himself. (Look at Spidey in the pic above! Who knew that the web-slinger could look so gangsta?!) As Ghost Rider tackles Deathwatch, Blaze aims the weapon towards Spider-Man and his two attackers. He can’t fire or he’ll hit the hero for sure! That’s when inspiration hits. He looks to the captive Venom. He would go through anyone to make it to his arch-nemesis. Blaze hopes he won’t live to regret this. He frees the symbiote!

Venom wastes zero time in swinging towards his hated enemy! And as predicted, he does in fact tear through Hag, Troll, and numerous Deathspawn to try and reach Spider-Man! At that moment, the Deathspawn try to flee Deathwatch’s battered form! This cannot be allowed, or this madness will start over again! No. They must be contained! Ghost Rider encircles the villain with his chain as Blaze ignites it with a hellfire blast! The result is a type of cage, keeping the Deathspawn from escaping! Seeing their beloved master fall, Hag and Troll try to flee! But Johnny Blaze expected this. He knocks both to the ground, holding them at gunpoint! (Wow! No wonder I forgot Hag and Troll until now. They were beyond pointless to the story. Yeah. I’ll keep telling myself that. No screw up here, folks…..) Badly weakened, the creatures begin to fall one by one. It all seems to be over until Spider-Man hears a familiar growl coming from behind him. Venom won’t be denied his prize!

But before Venom can spring, a blast from a sonic disruptor rifle knocks him back! Countless armored Guardsmen enter the sewers and begin taking control of the situation. Venom is quickly contained. Demogoblin is found lurking about elsewhere in the sewers and is captured as well. Doppelganger was never located. (Seriously! The writer just completely forgot about him!) As for Hag, Troll, and Deathwatch, they are taken prisoner by Blaze and Ghost Rider to be deliver to the mystic, Dr. Strange. Spider-Man thanks the two as they mount their bikes. But all three of the heroes know that as long as evil runs rampant, this will hardly be their last meeting.

End.

Dedicated to my beloved Renee for our seventeenth anniversary. I have always and will always love you. Thank you for making this big comic book nerd’s heart feel whole.

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Dark Liaisons (part 3 of 4)

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Well, I’m back at last, Unspokenites. I apologize for the long delay in getting to this third part of the story. I blame global warming personally. Okay. That was lame. Would you believe that I barely survived an alien plague? Fine. I was being lazy. Happy now? Geez! You guys are relentless! Anyway, let’s shift the focus from me to the Spirits of Vengeance storyline. This part was originally presented in “Web of Spider-Man” #96. Enjoy!

In the inky depths beneath Manhattan, Spider-Man fought for air! He and the priest were so swarmed with the deadly Deathspawn that it was as if they were drowning in them! Suddenly, using his superior strength, Spidey broke through! Using this freed hand, he triggered one of his web-shooters, shooting a webline onto an overhead pipe. He then pulled himself and the priest to freedom! (I won’t make a “Braveheart” joke here. The Scottish people may thank me by ceasing all haggis cooking. Ugh!) Pulling them both up, Spider-Man spied a crack in the pipe. This gave him a desperate idea. He yanked with all of his might until the pipe burst and water came shooting down over the Deathspawn at an alarming rate! This disoriented them enough for Spidey to slip through another tunnel.

At this moment, Venom was crawling through yet another winding tunnel. Below him, he spied Doppelganger, Demogoblin, and a terrified Hobgoblin. Demogoblin had Hobgoblin pinned to a wall. The demon spoke of how it would tear the taint of it’s own demon blood from the Hobgoblin’s veins, leftover from when he himself had possessed his body! He would then slay every demon until only he was left to transcend to a higher being! (Can I just say here that Demogoblin might just benefit from some help with his metal health issues? Because he’s nuttier than a salted nut-roll!) Hobgoblin begged for the creature to see reason! He begged for his life! Uninterested in this exchange, the Doppelganger turned and spied a quietly approaching Venom! It attacked immediately and the two creatures began to tear one another apart!

Meanwhile, in yet another part of the sewers, Ghost Rider and Johnny Blaze were having their own problems with this invasion of Deathspawn creatures. As they battled, Ghost Rider ensnared one of the beasts around it’s throat with his chain! Blaze attempted to end it’s unholy life with his hellfire shotgun, but the Rider had other ideas. He would terrify it with his Penance Stare, making the creature feel all of the pain it had ever caused others by looking into his cold eyes, and then it would be more apt to lead the heroes to the trapped humans. Staring into the frightened monster’s eyes, he began his terrible stare! But the Deathspawn merely exploded! Another plan would have to be conceived. (Umm, yeah! I know you’re only reading this and can’t actually see my shocked face, but damn! That’s definitely one for the books, folks! It felt so bad, it literally blew up! I’m still in shock!)

Just then, Spidey and the priest rounded the corner and almost ran right into Ghost Rider and Blaze as they fought the countless Deathspawn horde! With barely a word spoken between them, the web-slinger threw himself into their fight to help! The captive people were everywhere it seemed, free of their prison, but now in immediate danger! The heroes agreed that they needed to separate the victims from the Deathspawn somehow. Spider-Man instantly formulated a plan. He shot two twin lines of webbing overhead, catching the cracked ceiling over them all. He then instructed Blaze to fire at the largest crack, making it even bigger. Spidey then ordered Ghost Rider to throw his chain into the same area. When it took hold, the two pulled with all of their superhuman might as Blaze continued firing! The effect was that the ceiling collapsed, separating the humans from the deadly Deathspawn attackers by tons of concrete rubble! (Ah, teamwork. Not unlike the X-Men. Well, when Wolverine isn’t slowing things down by trying to get into Jean Grey’s panties. Hairy little pervert.)

While the captives begin their escape, Spider-Man and the others suddenly hear a blood-curdling scream! That’s when Spidey realizes that Hobgoblin is not amongst the other victims! He states that he must rescue the criminal before the Demogoblin has his way with him! Blaze argues that the other people’s lives mean more than Hobgoblin’s. He should leave him to die. Spider-Man looks to the priest. Both agree with a nod. No life is more important than any other. The wall-crawler crawls off to save one of his deadliest foes as the priest says a prayer for him. (Respect goes to Spidey here. I’d not only leave Hobgoblin behind, I’d post pics of his demise of Facebook. I take lots of medication…..)

Just as Demogoblin raises one razor-sharp clawed hand to end Hobgoblin’s life, webbing pins the claw to a wall as a foot connects with the demon’s jaw! The unholy one falls but orders the Doppelganger to protect him while he finishes his grisly work! The near-mindless creature growls and attacks Spider-Man from behind! But a well-placed fist from behind drops the Doppelganger! It’s Venom! Venom won’t allow anyone to kill Spider-Man but himself! That moment is when all hell breaks loose! All present combatants are now beating each other to a pulp! Spidey seizes this chaotic moment to advance upon Demogoblin! He beats the creature within an inch of it’s cursed life until the demon can no longer stand! But before this can go any further, the Deathspawn erupt from beneath Demogoblin and drag him downward with shadowy claws! (It seems as if you can’t even trust Hell’s forces in this day and age! Sheesh!)

Spider-Man reaches down to help the Hobgoblin to his feet. The man all but begs for prison at this point! But Spidey had forgotten all about the murderous Venom! Done with his prey, the many-limbed Doppelganger, he now attacked his true target, Spider-Man! The two had done this dance too many times. So much, that they nearly knew one another’s every fighting technique! But the fight is suddenly interrupted by a chain around Spidey’s symbiotic attacker’s throat! It was of course Ghost Rider! The Spirit of Vengeance demanded that Spider-Man flee with the innocents and make sure they got to safety! Begrudgingly, he does so. An enraged Venom then faces the Rider. This insult would not stand!

To be concluded…..

Dedicated to the memory of my stepfather, Bob Metz. Ten years have passed since the night you left this world behind. And you will be missed by those who loved you for all time. Rest in peace.

90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Dark Liaisons (part 2 of 4)

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Hello, Unspokenites and welcome back to my look back at the “Spirits of Venom” epic! Why is it an epic? Because this storyline literally made me drool as a kid at how amazingly badass it was! So I’m a little biased, sue me. (It’s true about the drool unfortunately. I’ve gone through more copies of these comics from slobber stains than a rent-a-Santa goes through pants due to pee puddles during the holiday season!) Well then, shall we return to our little tale? Let’s! I now bring you the second part of our story as it was originally presented in “Spirits of Vengeance” #5!

Blackness everywhere. Surrounding him. Forcing to pull him under. Johnny Blaze’s head throbs in pain. Must’ve hit it as he dove into the tunnel. As his vision clears, he’s met with a sight that can only be described as a war! Combatants on both sides are tearing into one another as the deadly Deathspawn surround them all! That’s when Blaze notices the priest from earlier! He’s down here too, caught in this chaos! But before the former Ghost Rider can react, the Deathspawn threaten to once again drown him in inky blackness! Only this time, he comes out firing! Hellfire blasts hit in all directions, causing the creatures to flee in fear! Unfortunately, they take the priest, Spider-Man, and others with them as captives! (Johnny Blaze is soooo cool! Long hair, sunglasses, trench coat, and a cigarette hanging lazily from his lips. Add to that the fact that he rides a motorcycle, and I’ve got a total man-crush!)

Ghost Rider demands that they pursue Spider-Man as he has been their ally in the past. Blaze begrudgingly agrees and fires once again into the crowd of Deathspawn! Unfortunately, Venom hears the sound of his web-slinging enemy’s name and rushes after Spidey at the same time! The result is winging the Venom symbiote with a hellfire blast! (Gulp! Venom’s gonna be a bit miffed. Maybe a gift basket with exotic soaps and a Hallmark apology card?) Venom screeches in anguish as it’s alien tendrils flail everywhere! A moment passes and the symbiote once again slithers to re-cover it’s human host. And then, with no warning, he grabs Blaze by the throat and pins him to a tunnel wall! The antihero’s boots dangle while he struggles to breathe! Blaze merely smiles as he presses the hellfire shotgun barrel closer into his attacker’s throat!

After harsh words are said, Venom turns away from Blaze and splashes after the creatures that abducted his arachnid arch-foe! His symbiote uses it’s camouflage ability to turn invisible as Venom presses on through the sewers. That’s when Ghost Rider looks down. The body of his own arch-nemesis, Deathwatch, lies at his feet! The Deathspawn must’ve been planning on resurrecting the villain down here! He places the corpse over his shoulder and listens to the nearest wall. Johnny Blaze questions his skull-faced partner. Suddenly, the Rider punches through the wall, stating that he can hear the cries of the innocent within the hidden chamber beyond! (Anyone else feeling slightly claustrophobic reading this? Yeah. Me neither. I think I’m gonna go pass out for an unrelated reason…..)

Ghost Rider and Blaze continue for a short while into the secret tunnel before the floor opens up into yet another chamber. As the two dark heroes examine this, Deathspawn suddenly spring from the large hole and lunge for Deathwatch’s body! They succeed in dragging it down into the darkness with them! Before the Rider and Blaze have time to think, Venom suddenly becomes visible nearby, knocking both anti-heroes into the dark abyss! Ghost Rider catches Johnny Blaze before he hits bottom and Venom lands next to them. But before the trio can fight further, Venom senses someone beyond this room and swings off to investigate! (Geez! Venom needs to chill out. He’s acting like my equally evil two year old great-niece, Eden! Someone needs to put him over their knee! Okay. Maybe that’s a dangerous idea.)

Thinking that the evil Deathspawn lie in wait within, Venom begins attacking the first solid bodies he finds! Ghost Rider quickly stops him though, forcing him to look at their surroundings. Terrified humans huddle amongst the decaying corpses of their fallen! They are meant to feed the very creatures they seek! That’s when Ghost Rider hears a familiar voice ask for help in the shadows. The three peer into the veil of blackness and see Spider-Man, the priest, and the others pinned to the wall with a sticky substance! As Ghost Rider works on freeing them, the minions of Deathwatch fill the chamber in mass! (Uh-oh! Looks like our heroes could really use a hand here! Where’s Spider-Ham when you need him?)

As Blaze fires into the horde of Deathspawn, opening a path for the humans to escape, Spider-Man swings off to get the priest to safety! That’s when things go from bad to worse as Deathwatch’s body is taken by his servants and drug away! Ghost Rider must now make a hasty decision. Will he follow his enemy’s corpse to stop his impending resurrection, or will he help the rest of the people escape? No contest. Innocent life must be protected. Venom, Johnny Blaze, and Ghost Rider run off to do just that!

To be continued…..

Dedicated to the “evil” great-niece I mentioned earlier, Eden Love Miller. You are truly the light in a sadly dwindling family line. I love you, sweetheart.